On the previous post, we discussed high level requirements, requirements gathering and producing a requirements document.
Exploiting Technology
Now we look at whether we have exploited technology to give us a competitive advantage.
To do this, lets have a look at how some medium and rather large companies have utilised the web for competitive advantage.
These companies use their web site to acquire leads/prospects in the form of email addresses and phone numbers. This information can then be passed to a CRM system by inter connecting plug-ins. The CRM system is then used to cultivate prospects by sending more marketing material and possibly phoning the prospect to create a sale or appointment leading to a sale, depending upon the complexity of the product or service being sold.
Their requirements document would have recognised that data can be captured from their website and transferred to other applications for use in increasing profits.
Another example of exploiting the technology available today is dealing with sales returns on a website. These companies provide a login to a secure area for each customer who makes a purchase on their website and even those that purchase via other means. Once logged in, customers can be given a number of questions to answer, a returns number and even a label to print out for returning sales items. If this saves time compared to doing this over the phone it is providing the company with competitive advantage. Its costs of doing business are reduced.
Here we come to a salient point about requirements analysis for the web. Do not leave requirements outside the document just because you have pre-conceptions about what can be delivered by this new technology, as we are now at the stage where our competitors will be looking into this area further for streamlining their operations and becoming more efficient. You might not want to be in a price war but only the most efficient companies will win it, if the need arises.
Selecting a Supplier
Lets suppose our requirements document identifies the following needs for the sales and marketing department.
- acquire leads/prospects
- harvest leads
- make sales online
- make returns online
Now we want to go out to tender, bearing in mind when we work with a supplier we may have to change the requirements document to prioritise items if the cost is to high and these can be implemented in a later phase when more budget is available. The best suppliers are likely to be those who offer most of the functionality you require. This is because they have probably supplied similar solutions before and will be aware of any pitfalls.
Creating A Specification
Whilst working with a supplier, lower level requirements need to be created. This is often referred to as a specification. This will contain a site map that details all of the sites web pages and where they sit in the overall hierarchy of the website. Wire-frame drawings can also be put into this document to show where proposed text, input fields and images are to be located on each page. Any validation that is required on each page type should also be documented and reviewed. This document should be done in conjunction with a supplier so that you incorporate all your business rules and also the supplier may also add some useful contributions using their experience.
Designs
An experienced supplier will make you aware of the resource and time that you to supply in order to approve designs(website layout) for each area of functionality/web page type. These should be reviewed by you and have an official sign off, together with the specification. They can be all moved into a single document for sign off to make the process easier to manage.
Moving Forward
All the activities mentioned so far can be done using a combination of in-house expertise and external suppliers. You do not have to commit to a supplier until this point. Our next blog helps you gain an insight into comparing options for utilising technology to meet your requirements and finally deciding on a supplier.
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